BY JILL NAGY
Ryan Miller, a Lake George High school graduate,
returned from Seattle, bringing with him
many of that city’s coffee secrets. In March, he
opened Spektor Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee
shop at 140 Glen St. in Glens Falls, the space
formerly occupied by Coffee Planet.
Spektor’s roasts all of its own coffee and
serves it up as espresso, cappuccino, lattes, and
other specialty coffees. They also roast coffee for
wholesale customers.
In addition to coffee, Spektor’s offers a full
breakfast menu and baked goods, including
bagels and baguettes, that are made in-house.
The breakfast menu features the “smash-up,”
a baguette with avocado, prosciutto and poached
eggs served with “smashed” potatoes.
“People love it,” Ryan said.
They make their own sausage patties using
sausage from Burlington, Vt. Many of the other
meat products come from Oscar’s Adirondack
Smokehouse in Warrensburg. Brown eggs come
from local farms. Battenkill Creamery provides
dairy products. The in-house bakery goods are
supplemented by baked goods from the Tribecca
Bakery in Brooklyn.
Up to 10 customers can sit at a coffee bar and
watch the barista grind and brew their coffee
to order. In all, the shop can seat 40 people and
also offers carry-out. Ryan described the decor
as “trendy,” “metro,” with “a classy feel.” That
includes brick walls.
Seth Rehm, Ryan’s business partner, worked
at Cafe Vero in Lake George and also traveled to
Seattle with him. Ryan trained there with David Schomer at Espresso Vivace, whom he describes
as a well-known espresso expert. He met Schomer
at a seminar and worked one-on-one with him.
Ryan was a part owner of Cafe Vero but sold his
interest in that business before becoming involved
in his current enterprise.
The shop is open seven days a week. The
kitchen remains open until 3 p.m.; coffee is available
until 6 p.m. There are six employees: a cook,
a baker, and four baristas.
The shop is located in downtown Glens Falls,
next to Domino’s, on the traffic circle. The phone
number is 502-1606.